The Torn Quartet
by The Incoming Tide
Summary: Chandler, Michelle, Amber, and Lily transfer to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizrardry in search of education that can't be obtained in America. Knowing that it would be very dangerous to enter the UK, they planned to complete a their final year at H
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize from J.K. Rowling's books

Chapter One: Rareties

A tiny breeze rolled in through the glass door of a bar right in the heart of London. It swirled and floated down and around the small tables and poufs that were organized in a chaotic manner, filling the whole room with a very welcome chill. Four girls looked up from their conversation to see who had entered the café.

To their disappointment, it was only a short witch dressed in thick furry robes and a sun hat dangling little butterbeer corks from the rim. Such attire was suicidal in London these days. The oppressive heat and lack of wind had the whole country lounging around in their lawns wearing nothing but their knickers, fanning themselves with just about everything from newspapers to dishcloths.

The four girls returned to their conversation without an ounce of surprise at the women's choice in clothing. So did the rest of the patrons, which were few, sitting in the chairs that were so full of cushion that most had difficulty moving to the door. How strange! A women walks in wearing clothes that seemed to be screaming, 'Look at me', and not a single person pays her any mind. It was as if it was something that they saw every day! The fact was, they did see that sort of thing on a daily basis.

You see, everyone in that bar, was a witch or wizard themselves. Some of them even wore garments very similar to the eccentric women's. England was filled with magical folk. As was America and every other county around the globe. But, the U.K. rarely saw any foreigners of schooling age around this time of year. They were all in school, learning to become decent citizens of the magical community. Most witches or wizards who could afford to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry already lived on the island. Except for the four girls who sat around a table situated by a window that was adorned with every type of clock imaginable, all saying half past ten in the morning.

When they had walked in, the girls had expected a cozy, welcoming coffee shop to greet them with an air of a family living room, but instead met the brunt of a dark, dull restaurant exuding an aura of being abandoned. From what they could tell with the dreary light shining though the dusty windows, the bar had once been the comforting joint that they had been expecting, but had long been hanging onto its customers by a thread. The girls unnecessarily whispered over their drinks.

"We really shouldn't have come here, Chandler. I mean, look at this place! We might as well have walked straight into Writehunt Square!" murmured a girl with thick, ashy blonde hair reaching past her shoulders. She was slightly hunched over her cup of tea, seemingly afraid of someone slipping a strange concoction in her drink. Another, sporting eyes as blue as azure, looked back at her apologetically.

"McGonagall assured us that the owner was honest and respectable. Compared to Writehunt Square, this is as safe as Disneyland!" she said. Her long, brown hair was thrown over her shoulder so it was laying in front of her khaki shorts were loose around her waist, giving her the attitude of being carefree and confident. She gave the nervous girl a reassuring smile. At that moment, an Asian girl with her hair tied in a stylish bun, picking at her nails piped in.

"Amber, we've already seen the equivalent to Writehunt Square right down the street at that Knockturn Alley! I really don't think that there could be a shadier place in London! I wouldn't be surprised if Voldemort has a hiding place down there!" she added to the blonde girl without looking up. Her light t-shirt was ironed to a crisp, clean edge while her fitting jeans didn't seem to have a single thread out of place and the hems remained completely intact from day one. Amber sighed.

"I know, it's just… I would feel a lot better if we could get out of here before, well… you know –" Amber looked up at one of the many decorative clocks. The one in question had hands with various pictures on them that changed often, depending on who was staying at the inn at the time. And, in place of the numbers was small lettering cramped together, saying things such as, 'Eating, Sleeping, Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, Muggle London, Drinking, In a Meeting, Hogsmeade' and other things. At the very top where twelve o'clock should have been, every single hand was pointed directly at 'Mortal Peril'.

Amber looked back down at everyone. They girls returned her gaze with knowing expressions. All four of them, Amber, Chandler, Michelle, and Lily, knew that it would be dangerous coming to England to study. The Wizarding War had the entire country in a mutual panic ever since the man who Voldemort, the darkest wizard of all time, ever feared, Albus Dumbledore, died this past June. But, in their ambition to gain as much knowledge as possible, they chanced the risk and set off for an education at Hogwarts that could not be obtained in the U.S.

Chandler sipped the last drops of her butterbeer and inspected the dirty label with her twinkling, azure eyes.

"This doesn't taste like beer at all. More like butterscotch."

A young woman with searching brown eyes, and wearing comfortable jeans and a plain shirt, frustratedly ran fingers through her silky hair.

"Well, if you really think about it, Chandler, butterscotch doesn't taste like scotch. Now does it? Honestly, I don't understand where you guys got into the habit of not thinking completely – AH! My hair is driving me insane! Michelle, what did you do to it?" she yelled at the girl who was still picking at her french manicure. She looked up, letting an inky, delicate strand falling into her face.

"I did nothing but tame that rat's nest you pull back in a piece of twine and call hair! And, don't mess it up! I spent the better part of two hours getting that piece in the back to lay flat!" screamed Michelle just as the brown eyed girl, Lily, was about to flip upside down and ruffle it up.

Lily sat upright in her chair and tried to ignore Michelle, a difficult feat for someone who saw each person's every move. She wasn't used to having her hair slicked down with styling cream and set into place with extra mousse. Normally, Lily would have thrown a brick through a window before she would have let anyone, especially someone who was so obsessed with how they looked, even touch the tiniest strand on her head. But, she figured that since they were starting at a new, prestigious school, she had better look the part.

Lily's ineffective silent treatment was interrupted by a still apprehensive Amber.

"Guys, please. Can we go now? It's already ten forty-five and this place gives me the creeps!" The girls glanced up at the nearest clock.

"Amber's right. If we leave now, we might be able to get decent seats on the train," agreed Chandler.

Several simultaneously loud scraping sounds came from their table as they pushed back the comfortable chairs. Michelle bent down to pick up her trunk. It didn't budge.

"Why, why, WHY did McGonagall switch out the suitcases for these things? They're not even practical!" Quickly, Lily pulled out her worn and chipped wand, waving it in a circle over the heavy trunk. Instantly, it shrank to the size of an eyeglass case. Just as promptly, she waved it again and the trunk glowed a neon purple.

"There, now your trunk can fit into your pocket and it's weightless! Something we learned in 1st grade !" The back of Michelle's neck glowed pink as she muttered something incomprehensible

Lily did the same for her and Amber's trunk. Just when she was about to raise her wand over Chandler's trunk, Chandler protested, "I can do it myself thank you very much."

And to prove her point, she pointed her own wand at the trunk and stated, "Diffindo!" The trunk shrunk effortlessly, followed by, "Bouyando!"

Chandler theatrically picked it up and slipped it into the pocket of her muggle shorts. Lily simply shrugged and moved towards the bar door. She twisted the tarnished brass handle and pushed it open. Bright sunlight stung their eyes from being in the dingy bar for so long. They squinted and blinked for a few moments before they headed down the sidewalk leading to King's Cross Station. As they passed by, Amber bumped into a large, faded sign that read, 'The Leaky Cauldron', making it creak with age.

A few blocks and a couple near-falling-experiences over cracks in the cement, Chandler, Michelle, Amber and Lily stood between platforms nine and ten, obviously very befuddled.

"Wait!" Lily dug into her jeans pocket and pulled out her Hogwarts letter, the one they all received. She unfolded it and skimmed though the letter while the others read over her shoulder.

"There!" said Chandler as she pointed to a sentence underlined in red. "It says that we have to walk though the barrier between the two platforms. Shouldn't be too difficult." She looked up at the seemingly solid brick wall. Then, making sure that no muggles were paying attention, she walked straight though the stone barrier, disappearing from sight.

Following Chandler's lead, the rest leaned against the wall and tried to look as if they were deep in a conversation. Then, just as slyly as before, they slipped past the barrier.

Amber turned around and gasped slightly. She excitedly tugged on Michelle's sleeve.

"Look, look! It's the train!"

Michelle turned around and cocked an eyebrow.

"It's red."

"I know! Isn't it awesome!" Amber's eyes glowed with anticipation, realizing that she was actually going to be boarding an old fashioned scarlet steam engine bound for a destination unknown except for the fact that it was the best school of magic in all of Europe.

Lily's eyes scanned the station, then spotted Chandler trying to balance on the edge of the rail.

"There's Chandler! Come on, let's get good seats before anyone else comes."

They ran towards Chandler who had hopped down and was waiting for them with her hands stuffed in her pockets.

"Geez, it took you guys long enough! What'd you do? Grab a cup of coffee?"

"Oh, relax. It's not like you were that bored," retorted Michelle who had locks of hair falling out of her bun. They glowered at each other, then Amber jumped onto the steps leading up into the train, obviously trying to tell them that they had much more exciting things to worry about than an argument between the two most peevish girls of the group. Lily, getting the hint, followed her lead, accompanied by Chandler and Michelle who were trying to push the other out of the way so they could go first.

Walking down the isle, the girls were surprised to see many compartments instead of rows and rows of open seats. Chandler was ecstatic.

"Cool! We get our own private room! Could this get any better?" she exclaimed with her mouth agape. Lily too, was in awe over the luxurious traveling arrangements.

"I think this is only the beginning to all the things that'll happen while we're here, Chandler."

Still shocked over the pampering they were getting, the girls searched for an empty compartment, which they found easily. Lily slid open the door to find newly restored, plush benches against the walls which repeatedly donned the Hogwarts crest.

"Awesome!" yelled Amber and Chandler at the same time. All four pushed their way in, wanting to spend as much time as possible in the beautiful compartment. They returned their trunks to normal size and pulled out various personal things to place on the top racks, shoving the trunks under the benches and out of the way. Michelle claimed her own seat while Chandler sat cross-legged on the carpet, leaving Lily and Amber to share a bench.

They sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating the year ahead. It would be thrilling, yes. Difficult, most definitely. But, the last thing on the list was the one that vexed everyone in the compartment. Dangerous?

They had come to England on a rare, full-ride scholarship. None had been given out to any student outside the U.K. for more that seventy-five years, and it would have been ludicrous to pass up such an opportunity. But, when Headmistress McGonagall informed them that Britain was in the middle of a war that had been raging for more than twenty years, their parents had been extremely reluctant to allow their children to enter into a potential battlefield. In the end, they had convinced their parents that the offer was too good to let fly by and that their education was the most important thing that they could have in this world.

Chandler and Lily had made a little catch phrase that they threw around in the group on occasion. 'Get smart or die trying.' It was finally hitting the girls how valid that saying really could get.

Lily stared out the compartment window into the isle-way, watching the varied students who were bustling around, trying to find their friends and colleagues. She adamantly tried to remember every face she saw and every name she heard. Forgetting someone's name had been the source of her humiliation for the majority of her life.

Lily turned watched Amber close her eyes and breathe deeply. She knew the one thing Amber was not looking forward to were the crowds and crowds of people. Being around too many people for too long sent Amber into small panic attacks, making her tense, fidgety and irritable. Lily deeply hoped that there would be a place where Amber could run to in an emergency.

Lily went back to people watching again and caught, in her peripheral vision, gleaming white hair and the corner of a black cloak. She stood up to try and catch the figure before it turned a corner or escaped into a compartment.

There, across the hall and down a little ways, stood a towering boy – no, a man? A guy? Lily wasn't quite sure what to call him. He was obviously young enough to still be in school, but his grey eyes betrayed the hundreds and hundreds of years he had lived in his short lifetime. Cold, hard, old, worn. Those were the only words Lily could think of to describe them.

His face and skin were smooth, a sure sign of wealth. And, his hair was flawlessly slicked back, not a single strand out of place. But, his eyes. They could have belonged to an aged veteran run out of home and work; angry at the world for the terrible injustice done to him. Lily was entranced.

Amber had obviously seen Lily's transfixed gaze, and vaulted from the bench to Lily's side.

"Is it him ?" Is it Harry Potter?!" asked Amber anxiously, standing on her tip toes trying to peer over Lily's head. Michelle's tinkling laugh rang throughout the compartment. Ever since they had researched the war, Amber had been obsessed with the Boy-Who-Lived. She knew everything about him from his birthday to his two best friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Lily had pointed out many times that Harry Potter most likely had enough giddy fan-girls chasing him around Hogwarts to last him a lifetime. Unfortunately, Amber's fascination never subsided, driving Lily, Chandler and Michelle up the walls.

But, as Amber caught sight of the platinum haired god, she fell deathly silent. She was so glued to his sharp jaw, angular nose and lean shoulders that she didn't notice Michelle come up behind her, trying to get a good view. Just like the two others before her, Michelle fell dumbstruck. Her mouth was slightly agape at his entire countenance. He held an air of being the best of the best, the talk of the school.

The trio stood at the compartment window, not uttering a word. Chandler's brow furrowed. What on Earth could make all three girls hush up at the drop of a hat? Whatever it was, she should carry it around in her pocket to make them pay attention every once in a while. Stymied by the lack of chatter, Chandler stood up to join in on the ogling. What she saw shouldn't have surprised her, but yet it did. They were gawking at a boy. But, this one was quite a bit different from their previous endeavors. He was a pretty boy, yes, but he was virulent. He looked ready to kill the two hideously ugly oafs who seemed to worship the very soles of his shoes. Menacing as he was, his painful beauty kept Chandler spellbound.

Without notice, Michelle pulled away from the group, tucking loose hairs behind her ears and adjusting her jeans to fit in a flattering way.

"Michelle, what are you –" Chandler began, but was cut off by Michelle pushing her away from the door and casually sliding it open. Lily sensed a tragedy.

"No, Michelle. Stop!" she whispered hastily. But, Michelle was already strutting down towards him, fixing her hair so that the curve of her neck was exposed flirtatiously.

Three more steps. Two more. One more. One past.

The boy looked up briefly, smirking at her little display, then returned to his conversation. Michelle kept walking into what were obviously the bathrooms. Lily let out a breath she had no idea she was holding. Thank Merlin she hadn't tried to talk to him. Like Chandler, Lily felt a strange foreboding towards him, as if he was someone to be avoided.

She turned to face the compartment directly across from theirs to be stunned by a girl with fiery red hair pulled back in a plait, sneering at them. If a glare could reach over and slap someone in the face, Chandler, Amber and Lily all would have dark red handprints gracing their faces. Once the girl was sure that they had gotten the message that she loathed them with everything she could muster, she promptly shut the blinds on her compartment. But, not before Lily caught the slightest glimpse of the back of someone's head. Someone with extraordinarily unkempt black hair.

Chandler, Amber, and Lily all looked at each other, baffled, then closed their own blinds. Each sat in their chosen spots, not saying a word to one another. There was nothing to say until Michelle came back, if she did.

Lily's head dropped between her knees while she watched Chandler actually twiddling her thumbs out of the corner of her eye. Then, a loud bang came from the compartment door making Amber slide halfway off her seat. Lily looked up to see Michelle pushing the door open a second time after getting pinned into the frame from throwing too much force into the simple task. She stomped inside the compartment and launched herself onto the bench, propping her legs up and leaving Amber, who was sitting on the wrong bench, with very little space to be.

"Nothing! Not one word! He didn't say a single word to me!"

Chandler couldn't hold it in any longer. She exploded out laughing. The whole situation was just too ridiculous to her. Michelle shot daggers at Chandler.

"It's not funny! I just completely embarrassed myself trying to get his attention, and all he does is look at me as if I was some sort of common slut!"

Chandler snorted even louder, tears coming to her eyes. Michelle may have loved guys, but she had no experience in catching the difficult ones.

"Michelle, I'd be willing to bet that he has at least twenty girls doing the exact same thing to him everyday. To him, they are just common sluts!" breathed Chandler between laughs. Michelle frowned. Lily and Amber were visibly trying very hard not to crack up at Michelle's behaviour.

"Well, I don't see you or anyone else coming up with an ingenious plan to grab him out of the air. Its not like I can snap my fingers and he'll come running like a trained puppy! At least, not without dumping a love potion in his drink!" Michelle aimed at Chandler. Chandler sniggered.

"You could do that," she teased. "At least it would be guaranteed to work!"

Lily saw Amber bite her lip and look out the window, keeping her shoulders from showing any signs of amusement. Lily leaned forward towards Michelle, trying not to start giggling at the absurdity of how oblivious she could be.

"It's probably best to just ignore him. Make him wonder why the newest girl in school isn't throwing herself at him. The curiosity will get the better of him and he'll want to find out what makes you tick," she told her patiently. Michelle smiled at Lily.

"How do you do that?" she asked. Lily tilted her head, confused.

"What?"

Michelle sighed exasperatedly.

"Just come up with simple solutions as if they were the most obvious thing in the world," replied Michelle. Lily shook her head.

"It is the most obvious thing in the world. You see, that's what I'm talking about! You guys don't use your whole head! It drives me nuts!"

Lily's tirade was cut off by Chandler abruptly standing up.

"If you're finished with ranting and raving about our inadequate thinking abilities, I think we should get out the chess board!" Amber jumped off her seat. "Yeah! Come on! Chandler, I think it's in your bag!" she said. Michelle's head fell into her hands.

Chandler reached under the seat and pulled out a miniature marble chess set. She muttered, "Engorgio," and swirling her wand over it. The board and chessmen instantly grew to normal size. Amber slid onto the floor to be level with Chandler and charmed the board to hover in between them. Michelle stretched across the seat and covered her eyes with her arm. Lily decided to watch the game, knowing it would be a rather short one. Even though Amber lost almost every time, she still loved the game just as well.

Amber wasn't exactly the brightest ring in the box when it came to thinking critically, but if you gave her a hippogriff and a blast ended skrewt, she could give you a pair of best friends by the end of a month. The creatures sense her humility and her willingness to work hard, and she has them eating out of her hand, literally.

All went silent except for the shouts from the little soldiers occupying random squares. Michelle kept turning this way, then another. She groaned.

"Lily, could I use your pillow?"

Without saying anything, Lily pointed her wand to the rack above her head and a purple pillow came flying towards Michelle, barely missing Chandler's head.

"Hey!"

Lily simply shrugged while Michelle caught the pillow and stuffed it under her head in one quick motion.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"No problem."

None of them except for Lily had been able to conquer silent spells, but nobody was surprised. She could do just about anything! Sing, cook, draw, write, solve complicated puzzles, anything! So far, no one had found something that Lily wasn't good at.

The chess game didn't last very long. Chandler beat Amber effortlessly. She looked up at Lily who was stretched out with her head resting in her palm, watching the little marble men conversing with one another.

"Lily, come down here and play!" she whispered in an attempt to not wake Michelle. The corners of Lily's mouth curled.

"Do you really think you'd win?" asked Lily laughingly. Chandler shrugged.

"It's worth a try." She then smiled and patted the spot where Amber had previously been sitting. Lily plopped down onto the floor and sat with her legs out to the side.

"You ready for a long game?" asked Chandler with an evilly broad smile. Lily returned it.

"Only if you're ready to be demolished!" she grinned smugly. Chandler's face turned sadistic.

"It's on!"

Indeed, it was a very, very long game. Amber had fallen asleep from lack of action and they cast a silencing charm on the door to keep out any unwanted noise that would break their concentration. At about a half-an-hour before they were scheduled to arrive at Hogwarts, Lily stifled a yawn.

"We should start getting changed or else we'll be left on the train when it arrives at the station."

"No!" Chandler protested. "I'm so close! We are not stopping even if we have to ride all the way back to London!"

Lily tucked in her chin.

"It'll still be here –"

"No!" whispered Chandler loudly. "We're finishing this now!"

Lily sighed.

"Alright, fine. Check!"

Chandler twirled her hair in concentration. She moved her last rook in front of her king. Lily took it with her knight.

"Check again!" Chandler frowned. She started tapping her fingernails on her jeans. Lily was growing impatient.

"Chandler, we really need to –"

"CHECKMATE!"

Michelle jerked awake, hitting her head on the windowsill and flying the purple pillow across the compartment, landing on Amber who remained asleep.

"Ow! Damn it!"

Lily and Chandler burst out laughing. Lily leaned back on the seat behind her and hit Amber who sleepily slapped at her. Both girls were on the floor clutching their sides.

"What the hell was that about?" yelled Michelle, finally waking a groggy Amber.

"I won! I won! I won!" chanted Chandler heartily while dancing around in a circle and accidentally knocking the board, much to the complaints of its occupants. Michelle grinned widely.

"Good."

Chandler scoffed.

"Well, your hair certainly isn't!" she taunted.

"What?"

Michelle moved in front of the window to see her reflection and how much damage had been done. Chandler sniggered. Even if the world were ending, Michelle would still be worried about her hair just in case a meteor with a cute boy riding it hit Earth.

"OK! We can change now!" said Chandler, jumping onto the seat to grab her bag. Lily closed the blinds and the four girls got dressed in Hogwarts robes and school ties instead of house ties. Amber scrutinized hers.

"It feels really weird starting at the beginning again."

Michelle looked at her with a lip gloss wand in her hand.

"At least here, there'll be some social designation. Not everyone's the same," she said while fluffing up her black hair. Chandler glowered at her.

"That's not designation. It's segregation. Discrimination against people with particular talents. There's a reason it's illegal in the U.S.!" Chandler argued. But, before Michelle could start a huge debacle, Amber chimed in.

"I'll bet they'll have a hard time trying to figure out where to put Lily, eh?" She nudged Lily in the ribs. Lily grimaced, but remained silent. The fact was that that was exactly what she was afraid of. That she wouldn't fit anywhere. Maybe they'd send her straight back to America saying, 'So sorry. You don't belong here.' Yes, Lily was terrified.

When the train stopped, they stepped off, Amber tripped off, into the station. Lily crinkled her forehead.

"In the letter, it told us to follow the first years. Where are they?"

Chandler looked around, then stopped.

"Oh my god! Look at the school."

Lily, Amber and Michelle spun around and gaped. Right in front of them, was the shore of an enormous lake. Across from it stood the silhouette of the largest castle they had ever seen in their entire life. Every single window was lit up, giving it the look of a thousand glowing eyes that were reflected off the lake's surface. A booming voice resonating throughout the station broke their trance.

"Firs' years, this way! Firs' years!" Chandler, Michelle, Lily and Amber followed the voice and quickly found its owner. A huge man with his face mostly hidden behind thick hair and a scraggly beard beamed down at them.

"Ye mus' be the new transfer students! Welcome to Hogwarts!" he exclaimed joyously. Michelle cocked an eyebrow and Amber shrank back a bit, while Chandler and Lily smiled.

"Hagrid! Oh, Hagrid! We've missed you!" A wave of bushy brown hair flew past Michelle, whacked her in the face, and rammed into the man. The brown bush didn't seem to phase him at all.

"Ello, Hermione!" he said, embracing the girl back. "Where are Harry an' Ron?"

"Over here Hagrid!" They all turned their heads to see a boy with flaming red hair just like the girl they had seen on the train, and one with messy black hair. Lily squinted. It was sticking straight up in exactly the same places as the boy's hair she'd seen in the compartment. They both walked forward with happy, but somewhat subdued expressions. Hagrid grinned.

"So, ye decided ter come back ter school, did ye?" Both boys nodded, but the one with black hair nervously glanced at Amber who's mouth was hanging slightly open.

"Um, Hagrid," he said. "Let's talk about that later."

Hagrid looked back down at Chandler, Michelle, Lily and Amber.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" He smiled expansively. "Harry, Ron, Hermione, these are the new transfer students from America! Eh…"

Chandler helped.

"Michelle, Amber, Lily…" Harry's eyes lingered on Lily's for a few seconds, then he smiled slightly.

"And I'm Chandler. We're in your year, I think."

They all politely shook hands. When Harry's eyes met Chandler's, he frowned a bit, but evidently realizing he was being rude, smiled at her. Both Chandler and Michelle instantly disliked all three of them, but Amber's mouth remained open in awe.

"Harry Potter, do you mean?"

Harry smile obligingly.

"Yeah, that's right."

Amber stood there in shock.

"Wow."

Harry appeared positively uncomfortable while Ron seemed to be having a fit of coughs. Hermione grinned broadly.

"You'll love Hogwarts," she said delightedly.

But then she looked at the long line of 1st years behind them.

"Um, Hagrid. The first years…"

He turned to look at the miniature procession.

"Blimey! Aright, aright, hurry up then! We'll be late! Inter the boats!"

Harry turned to the girls.

"We'll see you at the feast then?"

All four nodded and watched the three friends walk back to the last remaining carriage reserved for older students. Lily blinked, trying to figure out what exactly was pulling the carriage. It seemed like a black, scaly, emaciated horse with bloody red eyes. She nudged Chandler.

"Do you have any idea what that is?"

Chandler squinted to see clearer.

"What? I don't see anything."

"No, the thing pulling the carriage."

Chandler's eyebrows furrowed.

"Lily, there's nothing there. The carriage is being pulled by magic."

Lily looked at her as if she was sick, but let it go. Chandler, Michelle, Lily and Amber boarded a handcrafted boat that they filled up by themselves, and were pulled across the massive black lake towards the glittering Hogwarts castle.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

All the stars in the sky could be seen as the group walked up to the front gates. They reached the oak doors and Hagrid pushed them open to reveal a huge chandelier shining and glittering on the marble staircase. Then, a bald man with a large mustache and a bulging stomach appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Many welcomes, young and old, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" The entire hall buzzed with pent up excitement. The man held up his hand to silence them. He scoped the crowd until his eyes fell upon Chandler and Lily who were standing next to each other. He beamed at them, then continues with his speech.

"I am Professor Slughorn, Deputy Headmaster. Now tonight, each of you will be sorted into your specific houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I myself am head of Slytherin house," she said, sticking his thumbs in his pockets. "Though you all will be in different houses and will be competing against each other for house points and the Quidditch Cup, Hogwarts expects you to unite as a school. Though, I don't see how a little house rivalry would hurt anyone," Professor Slughorn added on, chuckling.

Chandler frowned at the though of school segregation, but kept her opinions to herself for the time being.

A short little man with a white beard and balding head appeared at Professor Slughorn's side and tapped on his elbow, only being able to reach that high. Lily identified him immediately as a dwarf. Slughorn bent down so the little dwarf could whisper in his ear. He instantly brightened.

"Oho! They're ready for us now! If you follow me, you will enter into the Great Hall and the Sorting will begin!" The loud shuffling of feet erupted tin the Entrance Hall as each student systematically walked up the stairs into the Great Hall.

All four girls were very nervous. What if they were all sorted into different housed? Would they like their new homes? Questions were plaguing everyone's mind.

As the doors were opened, everyone gasped. The ceiling was, well, not a ceiling really. It was the nigh sky portraying millions of bright stars and wispy clouds floating by. In the hall itself, hundreds of hundreds of candles hovered above the tables, giving just enough light to see across the hall clearly. The empty plates on each table glistened in the candlelight, reflecting onto the anxious and excited faces of everyone, including all the adults sitting at the staff table. Down below that table were four house tables hosting every one of its members. The procession of new students filed in between the two middle tables and waited.

Professor Slughorn walked up in front of the staff table and stood next to an old, rickety, wo

den stool. The dwarf walked up with a battered and patched hat and set it on the stool. The hall waited expectantly in silence then a hole in the brim of the hat ripped and the hat started to sing.

_Each year, for one thousand it seems to be, _

_I sing a song and you all clap for me. _

_I introduce the houses; I talk of the founders. _

_I shout out with joy, then watch you divide your numbers. _

_Every year, for one thousand, yes I do know, _

_I watch students learn discover and grow _

_To hate one another, all those not in your house. Competing for the best, then watch you douse _

_Yourselves in rivalries, up to the neck along with your kin. An internal battle that nobody can completely win. _

_So now I sit before you, my threads frayed from age. _

_I'll introduce the houses, whichever one you choose to be in. _

_Gryffindor: Noble, brave and strong. _

_Hufflepuff: Hard working their whole life long. _

_Ravenclaw: Intelligent, wise, challenges they must endure. Slytherin: Cunning and ambitious. Be careful of their lure. _

_Now my friends; some young, some old. I must close now, for the night has grown cold. I have just one last thing to say tonight to aid you all in this fight. To live, to survive, to win this war, we must UNITE!"_

The hall sat in silent, dumbfounded at the Sorting Hat's blunt warning. A command. It commanded the school to pull together and fight against Lord Voldemort. Professor Slughorn cleared his throat uncomfortably then pulled out a scroll bearing a list of names.

"Now, when I call our name, you will walk up to the front and the Sorting Hat will be placed on our head."

Every student looked positively alarmed. The though of having something that talks and reads your mind, let alone sings, being put on their head was terrifying. Slughorn started to read from the list.

"Adams, Susan," he shouted out.

A small blonde girl with neatly pressed robes and her hair cut into a bob walked out from behind the four older girls who had their arms linked at the elbow; Lily and Michelle on the ends. The little first year shakily pushed herself to go and sit on the stool that creaked when she sat. The Sorting Hat was placed on her head and was silent for a few moments.

Then it shouted out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The little girl was nothing short of ecstatic while the table on their right clapped and cheered with congratulations. Slughorn cleared his throat to silence the hall.

"Barnes, Chandler."

Chandler didn't even bat an eye as she broke away from the group and sat on the stool.

At the very instant the hat touched her head, it yelled out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Chandler grinned and gave Amber, Michelle, and lily a thumbs up before racing over to the Gryffindor table on the far right. To her dismay, the only seat left in the section where the Seventh Years had claimed their turf was between a tall black boy and a pudgy, round-faced boy – directly across from Harry Potter. He was sitting next to Ron Weasley on one side and the girl with the red braid on the other. She was squashed in between Harry and Hermione Granger who could not stop palavering on about how great Gryffindor was, none of which Chandler was listening to.

Harry Potter was staring at her, seemingly trying to figure something out and Chandler was staring right back. The red haired girl watched them, a glare forming on her face much like the one she had given on the train.

"Harry," she said forcefully. He didn't answer. "Harry! HARRY!"

His eyes snapped over to the girl who was glowering at him with such intensity that Chandler thought Harry's face might melt off. They seemed to be having a very heated, non-verbal conversation until Harry turned back to Chandler.

"Have you met Ron's sister yet, Ginny?" asked Harry. Chandler glanced at Ginny, expressionless.

"Hello."

Ginny looked down at her food and mumbled, "Hi."

The glare was still evident on her face. Then they herd a booming voice from across the hall.

"Dawson, Amber!"

Chandler saw Amber look from Michelle then to Lily, terrified. They nodded for her to go and gave her a little push. Chandler smiled at the fact that Amber was being force out of her shell, making her more independent. Chandler already knew which house she would be in. If the Sorting Hat had spoken correctly about the attributes acquitted with each house, Amber was pure Hufflepuff. Amber timidly sat on the stool.

It only took a few seconds before he hat shouted out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Chandler was beaming. Finally, Amber would be with a group of people who were much like her. Amber caught Chandler's eye and they waved enthusiastically to each other.

Then, the black boy on Chandler's right moved so they could see each other better.

"Your name's Chandler, right?" he said, a charming smile playing on his lips. Chandler gave him a little half smile, just to humor him.

"Yeah. And you are…?" she asked.

His smile grew bigger, showing every single one of his perfectly white teeth.

"Thomas. Dean Thomas!" he said, holding out his hand for her to shake it.

Chandler took it. Dean was surprisingly gentle in the shake. _Boy_, she thought. _This guy sure knows how to charm a girl!_

"So which part of America are you from?" asked Dean.

Chandler was slightly surprised.

"You must know your accents rather well!"

Dean simply shrugged. Chandler raised and eyebrow.

"Well, if you're so good, why don't you give it a go? Where am I from?" challenged Chandler.

Dean looked slightly taken aback, but complied anyway.

"Hmm… I'd have to say… New York?"

Chandler smirked.

"Close," she replied. "New Jersey. All of the transfers here are from New Jersey."

Dean was about to reply, but Professor Slughorn shouted out, "Lee, Michelle!"

Now with Michelle, Chandler had no idea where she would be placed. All the girls would fit well in Ravenclaw no doubt, but Michelle had other dominant qualities. She was brave and she was ambitious. She was naïve as well, but only in the area of the opposite sex. Michelle would not fit well in Hufflepuff. Chandler watched as Michelle swept up to the stool, hiding all expression and sat down as if it was the most natural thing in the world to her. She sat down on the stool and the Sorting Hat stayed silent for a while. Every single pair of eyes were fixed on Michelle. Her face started to pale, but returned to normal when the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

Ron leaned over to Chandler and whispered, "There's not a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin."

Everyone in earshot nodded in affirmation. Chandler looked up to see Michelle gracefully make room for herself at the Slytherin table. As she passed by the blonde boy they had seen on the train, Michelle tried very hard to ignore his steely blue eyes.

As Michelle sat down, she scrutinized the golden plate in front of her.

_Much better than back home_, she thought

But, before she could marvel anymore at the quality of the dishware, a high girly voice coming from across the table pierced the air.

"This is the seventh year's section for those who have been here for _seven_ years. The first years are right down there," she said, pointing to the end closest to the staff table. Michelle glared.

"Then why are you here? I can't tell if you're seventeen or twelve with your short legs and annoying voice! I'm sure they'd be happy to welcome one of their own," Michelle retorted.

The girl's jaw dropped.

"How dare you talk to me in that way! You little – "

"Pansy shut up!"

The girl snapped her head towards the deep, menacing, but obviously amused voice coming from the blonde man just two seats away.

"Let her stay, Pansy. She's got a point."

Pansy opened her mouth to say something but Michelle tuned her out because Slughorn had just shouted, "Roleanne, Lily!"

Michelle watched as the last remaining of their little group calmly walked up to the front. On the outside, she looked calm and collected, but Michelle could see that in her eyes, terror was gripping her heart.

The Sorting Hat slipped past her eyebrows and remained quiet. But, it didn't take long for it to make up its mind and shout, "RAVENCLAW!"

Lily breathed an audible sigh of relief, smiling as she walked down to the Ravenclaw table. As she sat down, Lily happened to glance over at the Hufflepuff table. She met Amber's face, which was stricken with panic. All four of them would now be separated. Amber now had no one to be by her side, and small insignificant things would start to affect her in a big way. Lily sent her a reassuring smile that seemed to help Amber a little. Lily noticed that Chandler was wearing a concerned expression as well. Lily shrugged and listened as Claire Zabini was sorted in to Slytherin.

As the small dwarf removed the hat and stool, a small chatter had begun, but was quickly quieted by the hand of a very severe looking woman standing at a podium. Her tightly drawn bun and square spectacles gave her the look of a strict and harsh librarian.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts. For those of you who are not aware, I am Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts. First off, I would like to introduce our new teachers for the term. Most of the older students will remember Professor Lupin who has returned to take up the post of Transfiguration."

A loud, exuberant round of applause sounded throughout the Great Hall, but among it were whispers of, "Transfiguration?" and, "I thought he was a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"

Again, McGonagall raised her hand and there was silence in the room.

"Next, we are pleased to welcome Professor Tonks who will be instructing first through third years on basic Defense Against the Dark Arts cirriculum…"

A young woman sporting electric blue spiked hair bounced up from her seat at the staff table and waved ebulliently at the crowd below.

"…And Professor Angelov who has recently transferred from Durmstrang will be teaching years fourth through seventh advanced defensive magic away from Ministry set protocol."

Conversation erupted at every table except for the Slytherins who appeared to be quite bored at this news. Everyone except Michelle, who was aptly listening to Professor McGonagall's every word.

As his name was called, Professor Angelov stood before the Great Hall. His movements were nothing short of fluid, and his robes seemed to flow right along with him. He had had long brown hair that just grazed his shoulders, and what looked like a five o'clock shadow. The girls around Lily swooned at the new luscious teacher. Lily shook her head. Professor McGonagall proceeded with her speech.

"Now, a few start of term notices, rules, and regulations must be addressed…"

But, Lily's unwavering attention was taken away from the headmistress by a quiet, but strong voice.

"Interesting for a girl to not drool at the sight of such eye candy," the voice teased.

Lily turned to face the origin of the voice. She met a boy with dark, bone-straight hair hanging in his eyes, which were set into deeply tanned skin. As he turned slightly, Lily noticed that the boy's hair was much shorter in the back than in the front. But, the most prominent thing on his features was the silver ring inserted into his lip. Lily looked at the boy with an unreadable expression.

"Why is that so interesting?" she asked sharply.

The boy gave a sideways smile.

"Dunno. I guess it was just something to say to get your attention. It usually works."

Lily laughed at the boy's completely honest comment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," she said.

"That would be because I haven't given it to you," he replied.

Lily cocked and eyebrow and looked at him expectantly.

"It's Jack Riler," he said with a smirk.

Lily smiled and reached over to shake his hand.

"I'm Lily Roleanne."

Jack smiled back at Lily, holding onto her hand a little longer than was probably appropriate and necessary.


End file.
